This delicious tomato, ground beef and noodle soup recipe is a fun and healthy meal for those cooler months of the year. Best of all, it’s an easy one-pot soup ready in 30 minutes! Use alphabet pasta for the noodles to make it extra kid-friendly!
Table of Contents
Noodle and Hamburger Soup
I grew up eating alphabet soup as a kid, and wanted to recreate my favorite for my kids. This hearty beef soup is so much better than store-bought!
And if you have kids? Trust me and buy some alphabet pasta. My boys love searching for the letters in the soup and listing off different things that each letter stands for.
For more kid-friendly soups, be sure to try my Chicken Pastina Soup and Lazy Lasagna Soup too!
Why We Love this Ground Beef Noodle Soup
- Super simple, throw-it-together dinner for those busy weeknights
- Ready to serve in just 30 minutes
- Comes together in one pot for less clean-up
- Packed with fresh vegetables, which add fiber, vitamins, and minerals like vitamins A, C and iron
- Lean ground beef adds extra protein to keep everyone’s tummy feeling satisfied
- Always a big hit with kids and adults alike!
Ingredient Notes
- Beef: Use extra lean ground beef for this recipe to reduce saturated fat. Sometimes we’ll use ground turkey instead!
- Vegetables: Keep it easy with a white onion, bell pepper, carrots, garlic, and frozen corn, plus any of your favorite veggies!
- Broth: Use a low sodium broth, like chicken or beef broth. You could also use bouillon paste, but always look for low sodium when possible, especially for kids.
- Canned tomatoes: I prefer to use fire-roasted tomatoes as they have a much richer flavor, but regular crushed or diced tomatoes will work fine too.
- Marinara sauce: This enhances the rich tomatoey flavor and thickens up the soup base.
- Seasonings: We’re using simple seasons, like paprika, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Your favorite pasta: We use alphabet pasta to get the kids excited. Other small pastas work well, too, or you can try egg noodles for a throwback!
Ground Beef and Noodle Soup – Step-by-Step Instructions
- Heat oil in large sauce pan over medium high heat. Cook ground beef until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Drain off the grease. Add the onion, pepper, carrots and garlic and cook for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until vegetables are fragrant and have softened.
- Next, add in the broth, diced tomatoes, pasta sauce and spices; turn heat up to high and bring mixture to a boil.
- Add in the corn and pasta, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 10 minutes or until pasta is al dente. It will continue to expand as it cools, so be careful to not overcook.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with a sprinkle of cheese, if desired.
Expert Tips
- If serving this recipe to little ones, I like to slice the carrots and then quarter them so that they’re smaller and easier to chew.
- If you’d like to keep the vegetables more simple and subtle for those who may be more particular, you can omit the bell pepper and sub in crushed tomatoes for diced tomatoes.
- The soup tends to thicken as it sits since the pasta absorbs some of the liquid. I find that this consistency can work well for little ones since it’s thicker and easier to transfer into their mouths, however, if you prefer a thinner soup, I recommend serving it immediately or adding some extra broth before serving if it’s been sitting for a while.
Storage & Reheating Guidelines
Fridge: If you have leftovers or want to make this soup ahead of time, allow it to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. It will keep well in the fridge for about 4 days.
Freezer: You can freeze this soup in an air-tight container for up to 3 months, although the pasta might be soft when thawed and reheated. If you plan to freeze this soup as a freezer meal, you can always cook the pasta separately and add just before serving.
I like to freeze this soup in these Souper Cubes for individual portions that can be easily served as quick lunches or dinner for the kids when we’re tight on time!
Reheating: The soup can be reheated gently on the stovetop, stirring occasionally, or in the microwave on full power for 3 minutes, stirring halfway. You may want to stir in a little broth or water to loosen the soup back up, as the pasta will absorb liquid as it sits.
Recipe FAQs
What is alphabet soup made of?
This ABC soup is a tomato-y beef soup made with lots of fresh veggies, ground beef and alphabet pasta. It’s a hearty soup that will keep everyone feeling full and satisfied and is especially fun for kids.
What type of pasta works best for this recipe?
Alphabet pasta or any small pasta like ditalini, orzo, elbow, pastina or star pasta will all work well in this soup.
Where can I find alphabet pasta?
I typically find the alphabet pasta at my local grocery store in the pasta aisle but you can also order it here.
Beyond soup, you can also use this pasta to create kid-friendly salads or for main pasta dishes!
Serving Suggestions
Serve with a sprinkle of cheddar or parmesan cheese and top with some chopped parsley, if desired. It also tastes great served along with some crusty bread or crackers.
Really, you won’t need much else. It’s a complete meal on its own!
Recipe Variations
- Different veggies: Try adding spinach, zucchini, celery, or diced green beans
- Protein: Sub in ground sausage or use ground chicken or turkey. You can also add your favorite meatballs or form the ground meat into mini meatballs. Additionally, you can add a can of white beans to make the soup even more hearty.
- To make vegan: Skip the ground beef and add two cans of drained and rinsed white beans instead.
- To make gluten-free: Sub in a gluten-free pasta or try cooking diced potatoes instead. So hearty!
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
More Healthy Soup Recipes
- High Protein Taco Soup
- High Protein Soup Recipes
- Chicken Meatball Soup
- 3-Ingredient Tomato Soup
- Italian Sausage Spinach Soup
- Healthy Chicken Noodle Soup
Ground Beef and Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4-5 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 14 ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1 cup uncooked alphabet pasta
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in large sauce pan over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Drain off the fat. Add the onion, pepper, carrots and garlic and cook for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until vegetables are fragrant and have softened.
- Next add in the broth, diced tomatoes, pasta sauce and spices; turn heat up and bring mixture to a boil.
- Add in the corn and pasta, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 10 minutes or until pasta is cooked.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with a sprinkle of cheese, if desired.
Notes
- If serving this recipe to little ones, I like to slice the carrots and then quarter the slices so that they’re smaller and easier to chew.
- If you’d like to keep the vegetables more simple and subtle for those who may be more particular, you can omit the bell pepper and sub in crushed tomatoes for diced tomatoes.
- The soup tends to thicken as it sits since the pasta absorbs some of the liquid. I find that this consistency can work well for little ones since it’s thicker and easier to transfer to their mouths, however, if you prefer a thinner soup, I recommend serving it immediately or adding some extra broth before serving if it’s been sitting for a while.
- We like to freeze this soup in these Souper Cubes for individual portions that can be easily served as quick meals when in a pinch!
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in August 2021 and the text, formatting and some photos were updated in November 2025
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